Day 2 was a failure too. The conclusion was simple.
“It doesn’t seem easy. We have coffee and tea, so which would you like?”
Ms. Tazuna asked kindly.
“Coffee, please. Thank you.”
She answered with a smile and took out the coffee beans, slowly starting to grind them. The rich aroma of coffee drifted through the room.
“The biggest problem for rookie Trainers is that they can’t secure an assigned Uma Musume. Since we can’t force a match just because someone doesn’t have one, it’s also common for people to gain experience in the provinces and then come back.”
Drreee— drrrr— drrrr— pleasant sounds continued through the grinder.
“Compared to that… Agnes Tachyon, Oguri Cap, and even Miss Fine Motion. You’re very popular.”
“Pardon?”
“Miss Oguri came to me personally and asked for help. She said she absolutely wanted to bring you in as her Trainer.”
“Oguri... so she told you too, Ms. Tazuna.”
“Miss Tachyon did as well. Though she only sent the paperwork to me like this.”
Ms. Tazuna slid a contract toward me. Tachyon’s name and mine were written on it.
“I never signed anything.”
“Yes, both copies are in Miss Tachyon’s handwriting, so they’ve been rejected.”
“I spoke with Oguri and Tachyon, but... who is Fine Motion?”
“Oh? You don’t know her? She’s been directly nominating a Trainer since last year.”
Ms. Tazuna looked at me in surprise.
“Since last year? I only became a formal Trainer this year...”
“Exactly. We replied that there must have been some mistake, but then you joined this year, and both the chairman and I were shocked. Do you not know her?”
Fine Motion. It was a name I had never heard before. No, for some reason, every time I said it aloud, it felt strangely nostalgic. Suddenly I wanted ramen. My thoughts wandered on their own—should I make tonight ramen?
“Miss Fine Motion is an Irish princess, and she dreams of becoming a race Uma Musume. She said that if I told you about her, you would know who she was. Are you really not connected to her at all?”
“...I’ve never been to Ireland, and no one in my family has any connection to it either. I think there’s been some misunderstanding.”
Ms. Tazuna silently held out three sheets of paper. They were contracts with the names Fine Motion, Oguri Cap, and Agnes Tachyon written on them.
“I thought I should hand these directly to the Trainer, so I arranged this meeting. I hope you’ll talk with the girls a lot and make a careful decision.”
“I’ve never spoken with a girl named Fine Motion... could I perhaps get her contact information?”
Ms. Tazuna looked at me as if to ask if I was serious. After a moment of silence, she let out a small sigh and wrote her number down for me.
“Thank you for the coffee. I need to prepare for tomorrow’s selection race and go eat dinner, so I’ll be getting up now.”
“Yes, Tracen always supports its Trainers and students. Please get home safely. And Miss Fine Motion said that if possible, she’d like you to contact her as soon as you can.”
Ms. Tazuna waved with a smile. I bowed deeply and left the lounge. I had the number of the girl named Fine Motion in my hand. There was still time before dinner. I took out my phone.
The ringing continued, and then the call connected immediately.
“You there, you rascal! Why are you calling so late?”
At the sharp cry from the other end, I realized I’d probably picked a very bad time to call.
“...I’m calling on the number I received from Ms. Tazuna. If this is an inconvenient time to talk, I’ll contact you later.”
An awkward silence flowed through the phone. Then, slowly, a voice came through.
“Trainer...?”
“I heard you were looking for me. I’m a new Trainer who just joined Tracen Academy, so I’m calling in case you may have mistaken me for someone else.”
“You rascal, to play tricks on royalty. I’ll have to give you a proper scolding!”
Her reply came with a small laugh, and I realized she was under a very serious misunderstanding.
“Um... Miss Fine Motion? I only heard about Miss Fine Motion today, so do you perhaps know me? I’m not very bright, so I don’t know much about Miss Fine Motion.”
“Not funny, Trainer.”
I could picture her expression from the voice alone. She seemed like she was puffing out her cheeks. I had never even seen her, but I could picture her clearly. Shaking off the strange feeling, I cleared my head.
“First, I’d like to thank you for the Trainer contract. You made an offer far beyond what someone with no experience or results like me deserves, but I called because I don’t think I can accept it.”
“What are you talking about, Trainer? I already convinced Father...”
“I’ve never even seen Miss Fine Motion run. I’m grateful for your generous offer, but I have no intention of signing a contract blindly. Thank you.”
Not even her breathing could be heard through the phone.
“I’ll come to Japan right now. Let’s meet and talk, okay? You’re angry because I contacted you too late, right? Right? You’re sick of all those ramen shop tours? I’ll go eat plenty of other things too, so please don’t say things like that...”
This young lady seemed to be making a huge mistake.
“Miss Fine Motion. We’ve never even seen each other’s faces. I don’t know who you are, and you speak as if you know me, but it seems you don’t. It looks like you’ve mistaken me for someone else, so I’ll submit a separate request to Tracen.”
“...Are you upset with me?”
At the frightened voice, I couldn’t bring myself to hang up. Why was this happening all of a sudden?
“No, I’m not upset. I’m simply grateful, Your Highness. I don’t know how to thank you for nominating a rookie Trainer and suggesting that you wanted to go to the Twinkle Series together...”
“Sakura.”
I listened closely, wondering if I had misheard the short word.
“Oaks.”
“Pardon?”
“Shuka Sho, Elizabeth, Osaka Hai.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Autumn Tenno.”
“Miss Fine Motion?”
The person on the other end kept talking without hearing my reply.
“Mile Championship, Arima.”
“What are you talking about? Are you talking about races you want to enter?”
Again, there was no answer from the other side. Just as I started to wonder if the call had dropped and checked whether it was still connected—
“You rascal.”
A voice so low it sent chills across my entire body came through, closer to a beast’s growl than human speech.
“This is a warning. Do not make flippant jokes to royalty.”
At the voice, like a wounded beast spitting blood, I said nothing. Through the phone, I could feel an anger I couldn’t even begin to describe. I took several deep breaths and waited for her to continue. How much time had passed?
Even without checking whether the call had ended, I could tell it was still connected. I could hear faint breathing.
“Really... really...”
She sounded like she was crying. Fine Motion’s voice trembled violently.
“Ahaha, ha...! That’s funny. Yes, it’s funny. I never even considered something like this. Of course, of course you’d come with me...”
Laughter followed. The laugh was so eerie that, even though I was only on a phone call, I shuddered all over from an inexplicable chill.
“My apologies. Please forget the mistake I just made. I wanted to tease you because I wanted to know what kind of person the Trainer was. I apologize for this rudeness. Your Trainer ratings are excellent, and I liked your goal of a ‘world where Uma Musume can spread their dreams freely,’ so I ended up teasing you like this. I’ll come see you soon, Trainer.”
Before I could answer, the call ended. I stared blankly at my phone screen. What on earth was going on?
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